Age of Stupid Part 3 – The Next Step

By Sarah Briggs | Published March 16, 2009

When the reels finished whirring at last night’s premiere of Age of Stupid, the satellite link-up continued, with the opportunity to ask questions of Franny Armstrong, Lizzie Gillett and wind turbine campaigner Piers Guy. Pete Postlethwaite, the star of the show – though he wouldn’t admit it, stating instead that humanity was the true star – joined Franny and Lizzie on stage and told the audience about his reason for getting involved in this thought provoking motion picture. Although his wife got the blame for bringing out the environmentalist in him when standing on the green carpet before the premiere began, Pete feels strongly about the message that the film portrays, saying that it was a film that had to be done.

Pete Postlethwaite came into the film following a speculative enquiry from writer and director, Franny, that was given hope when Franny found a story in a Shropshire newspaper telling of a proposal that Pete and his family had put forward to install their own wind turbine.

Among the audience in the solar cinema itself, were secretary of state for energy and climate change, Ed Miliband and actress Gillian Anderson. Gillian, for whom last night’s viewing was the 3rd time she had seen the film, commented rather emotionally on how powerful the film was, and stated that it inspires people to do something, anything to help the cause that the film is promoting, and this is so true. The way that the people and events were captured on film pulls at your conscience and common sense alike to really make you think.

Stop Climate Chaos, which is made up of over 100 organisations including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and the Wildlife Trust to name but a few, took to the stage to share their support for the film, and also for the Not Stupid campaign which launched at the end of the event. Franny confided in the audience that she had thought that once the film was finished, she would be able to retire to grow vegetables, but that the realism of it is – as climate campaigners and experts advised her – the journey has only just begun.

The Not Stupid campaign aims to make people aware of the opportunity we have – many say the last opportunity we have – to make a change to our habits and curb our carbon consumption habits by taking serious action at the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen in 9 months time. The Green Village supports aims to make Age of Stupid available to as many people as possible, because the message it portrays is important to so many people. As the film suggests, now is the time to act if we don’t want the predictions of the film to become reality, people need to receive the wake-up call that this film provides. Show your support for the film by leaving a comment.